Priorities
by LysseC
Summary: To Hashirama, the needs of the society always came before that of the individual. Madara doesn't agree. HashiMada. Post-canon AU in which the founders live to see what happens of their village after the Fourth Ninja World War.


**Written for HashiMadaMiniBang!**

**Prompt: **_**Society**_

**Rating:**

**Summary: **_**To Hashirama, the needs of society always came before that of the individual.**_

**A/N: I take no responsibility over this. I started writing the central part of the dialogue, the (hopefully) angsty-ish part, and it suddenly slipped out of my hands. I don't know what happened thereafter. Black Zetsu must've taken control over me and decided to have some fun. All hail Black Zetsu.**

**R&R, I need the criticism.**

**Priorities**

"Mmmh, I'd say the most important thing is to always think of the good of the village, but I guess you wouldn't agree, would you, Madara?"

Madara shoots him The Glare and Hashirama mentally braces himself.

"You're an idiot." comes Madara's dry comment.

_And here goes the tirade_, Hashirama thinks.

"You messed things up. I thought that after seeing the results of your moronic decisions you'd change your mind on the matter, but no, far from bullheaded Senjus to reconsider their position!"

"It's not like I'm the only one who's to blame..." Hashirama throws in in a sulking tone.

"Well, it's not like Black Zetsu tried to manipulate _you_, you know!" Madara barks, before forcefully regaining his composure.

"I may have been misled, true, but I never lost my compass. All I did, I did for those I loved. Their safety and happiness has always been my priority. When we planned the village together, what we wanted was for_ our brothers _to be safe there. The village was only a means, never an end in itself."

"I know that. But sometimes a sacrifice's necessary, to maintain peace. For everyone's sake."

And with that, Madara's last remains of patience get blown into the wind.

"Did you killing me save peace?" he shouts at Hashirama. "How many others did you have to kill, uh? How many wars where fought after then, to keep the village safe? Tell me, o great Shodaime Hokage, was it really worth it? Was your village really worth the lives of the whole Uchiha Clan?"

Hashirama averts his gaze for a moment, and this is all it takes Madara to know that he has scored a point.

"That was a mistake. They should've gone for a peaceful solution."

Well, Hashirama has always been known for never giving up.

"And what if they just _couldn't_? What then?" Madara challenges him, again.

"I want to believe that they could." Hashirama stubbornly replies, refusing to lower his eyes. "Sarutobi _did-_"

"You're too naive, Hashirama." Madara shakes his head. "You just refuse to see the point. It was the Uchiha Clan this time, but it could've been anyone else. The Hyuugas, the Uzumakis, anyone. All societies thrive on the oppression of some. Someone always has to pay the price. Someone always loses and is left behind. Wars will never end."

"But the village _was_ an improvement! And the Shinobi Alliance too! Maybe things will never be perfect, but they _did_ get at least a little better- you can't deny that."

This time it's Madara to avert his gaze. But he is not one to concede a score without trying to retort, either.

"They'll be back to fighting soon, you'll see. I can already tell you a number of reasons-"

"Why do you always have to be so pessimistic?!"

"Why do _you_ always have to be so optimistic!"

"Because that's the only thing that got me going on even after _you_ left me behind! Twice!"

"Why... you... YOU!" Madara stutters, not sure if he should yell at Hashirama for bringing their personal ups and downs into the argument, or feeling warmed because Hashirama doing something so un-Hashirama-ish as pettily throwing back at him his mistakes meant that Hashirama _cared_.

"WILL YOU GUYS JUST STOP FIGHTING ALREADY?"

Naruto's exasperated shout saves Madara the pain of trying to come up with an adequate reply.

"You're giving me the worst headache _ever_! For Rikodou's sake, you're acting like an old married couple! …Which you kinda _are_, but still!"

Hashirama bursts into a laugh, and Madara tries to kill the newly-elected Seventh Hokage with a glare that would look a lot more murderous if only his traitorous cheeks hadn't gone a bright red. He is still not feeling really comfortable with the idea of him and Hashirama finally getting seriously together. Love, especially peaceful love without heartaches every next day, is something Madara has difficulties getting accustomed to.

Not that Hashirama had any problems at all. The moment he realized something had gone terribly _wrong_ (or strangely right, depending on the point of view) after the fight against Kaguya, and he and Madara had been left absurdly alive, he didn't waste a moment to search for reasons he wouldn't surely find and deepened the kiss Madara had been giving him while exhaling his supposedly last breath.

If he had to be honest with himself, getting their relationship working had been a little awkward at first, especially when Madara too realized what had happened and started throwing random things at him in front of a shocked Shinobi Alliance (one of them Hashirama was quite sure was young Sasuke's sword, and another Tsuna's stiletto shoes -and since when did his little girl wear heels anyway?). But after long days of discussions and months spent on missions on the behalf of the now consolidating Alliance (and, to be honest, not without a good deal of shouting, headaches, bruises -not to mention the _really_ awkward silences when someone dropped on them unannounced), they did manage to cut out a little space in Konoha for themselves.

"Sorry, Naruto-kun. Mada and I kinda get a little sidetracked in our talks, sometimes..."

His lover's goofy excuses, followed by the pink one's small laugh reminds Madara that aforementioned little space is being currently occupied by the obnoxious brats.

He graces Naruto and Sakura with his glare (he has been using that too much today), and receives an understanding look from Sasuke. It's refreshing to be around another Uchiha from time to time. He is surrounded by idiots.

"So, erm, what were we talking about?" Hashirama asks, scratching his head and grinning like the idiot he, indeed, is.

"Uh..."

"The agreement with the Sand." Sasuke interjects, jumping to Naruto's rescue for the tenth time that day. Thank Hagoromo for the Uchihas.

"Yes.", Sakura catches on. "Their proposal would be beneficial to the village in the long run, but the Naras-"

"Yeah, yeah, just do what's good for Konoha, trust your heart and all that stuff. You'll do great." Madara cuts the pink one short. "Now get lost. We have important business to attend to."

A dumbfounded Hashirama watches his lover shoving the Seventh Hokage and his primary counsellors out of their flat.

"Bloody hell, they _are_ annoying." Madara says as he comes back to their kitchen.

Then Hashirama realizes something.

"Did you really just tell him to do what's_ good for the village_?" he asks Madara.

"Whatever." Madara replies, dismissing the argument. "I just needed to get rid of them."

Hashirama smiles.

"You know, we're free from missions for the whole week."

"Of course I know. I have both our mission schedules for the month committed to memory. And thanks the gods, I'd add, for you wouldn't be able to remember to wash your teeth in the morning, left to your own devices."

Hashirama falls into his trademark depression.

"Now you sound just like Tobirama."

"... Do you want to die badly?" Madara shouts, and the dumb Senju is back to grinning again.

"Nope. Sorry. Forget I said it."

"Mpf."

"Anyway, what I meant was, we're on a vacation." Hashirama insists, getting up from the kitchen table to fall on the couch. "We don't have any _important business_ to attend to."

"Yes, we do." Madara casually replies, nearing the couch himself.

"...Oh?"

Madara sits in Hashirama's lap, his thighs straddling his lover's sides, and kisses him deeply.

"_Oh_."

Later, as he languidly traces the contours of the scar on Madara's heart, Hashirama can't help a giddy snicker to escape his lips.

"What's so funny?" Madara snorts.

"Did you _really_ just dump the Hokage and his counsellors on such an important matter because you wanted to make love?"

Madara decides to ignore Hashirama's use of 'making love' instead of 'fucking'. He is in a good mood right now, and doesn't want a stupid _phrasing_ to make him uncomfortable (and maybe, just maybe, he's getting used to it, after five years).

"Well, I have my _priorities_."

**A/N: I ****regret nothing.**

**Hashi and Mada surviving the Fourth Ninja War happened because Hagoromo needed some fun after all that mess, and decided the little lovebirds were perfect for it. Or because the author did. Whatever. They deserve some peace. And a little flat by themselves with a big kitchen, a fluffy couch and a king-sized bed to do the nasties. A LOT of nasties.**


End file.
